Estranged
by Frozen789
Summary: Squibs. A disgrace or dismay to many pureblood families. The majestic Bones lineage suffers the first in 300 years, leaving them estranged. Tina and Skye Bones, now branded as Squibs, embark on a journey of discovery that leads to conflict with the Ministry-and a startling truth. Post Hogwarts.
1. Letters Yet to Arrive

**Estranged**

 _"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you as you are to them."_ -Desmond Tutu, Bishop

Prologue

Tina's dairy entry for May 10th

 _Squibs. Branded as non-magical, little better than Muggles, needing to be fixed, not worthy by family members of all old Wizarding families like the Bones. Yes, it's me Tina and my twin (triplet actually, but we're like twins) brother Skye Bones. Related to noteworthy members like Amelia and Susan of Hogwarts battle fame, most Bones children begin exhibiting magic around age 3. But not us, execpt for our triplet Fantina. Life became a nightmare, our family looked down upon, our father showering our other siblings with presents and affection. We are the runts, the nobodys, whatever you want to call it. We soon became known as the 'Estranged': it merely drove me, Skye, and our Mom into a close bond few can understand. Mom was shamed because of us, but she dotes on us like nobody else._

 _Why can't anyone help us? The Ministry refuses to help, and yet we both fear that there will be no Hogwarts for us. That letter is what will restore our relationship with the rest of the family. As our relations put it, we are ourebloods without a birthright, without a home, without a life among family. Why must we be treated like crap? Mom is at a loss for words, Skye refuses to talk with it about it (how he deals with stuff) and I cry regularly about it. I cannot lose hope yet: many Muggle-borns don't exhibit any magic and still go to Hogwarts, why not us? Surely it can happen to purebloods too, right? All I can say is this, My God help us._

* * *

 _Often those moments that make us who we are forged in the refiner's fire..._

The old yellow speedboat sped down the waterway, forests flying by on both sides, on its way to back to the Marina. On both sides of the reservoir, huge cliffs rose from the depths providing a majestic scenery. Inside, out of eight occupants of the boat, four were arguing.

"Come on, we've listened to Adele for years," one of the three brothers in the far back, on the three felt chairs that sat near the engine. "Bring on the Weird Sisters."

"No, you haven't," one of the only two girls under the age of ten in the boat said, louder than all of them. She glared at her three squabbling brothers behind her.

"NO TINA!" they all shouted back. "WE"VE HAD IT WITH ADELE! PUT ON THE WIERD SISTERS!"

"Keep it down," the second oldest of them all said. Unlike his more heavily built brown-haired brothers, he had sandy blonde hair and a lithe build more akin to that of his sisters. "We'll listen to Adele first, then we'll change it to the Weird Sisters."

"Skye, why do you always take her side?" the others said, turning their collective wrath on him.

Skye was visibly taken aback by the murderous glares they gave him. Why couldn't he: not only looking almost exactly the same, execpt for gender, they'd even been born hugging each other. How could he not always take her side?

Tina beamed at him, her hopeful blue eyes matching that of her one-piece swimsuit, shining with hope and pure adoration. Unlike their prim and proper Wizarding pride brothers, triplets (really twins) Tina and Skye Bones had a affinity for Muggles and their tech that baffled and frustrated their extended relatives, father, and siblings beyond all end. A shared love of the Muggle British singer Adele was one of them. The other triplet, Fantina, was more like that of her brothers, full of the old wizarding family pride.

"Hey, she's our sister. Cut her some slack."

Tina abandoned her position near the front of the boat and moved over to where her brother sat, enjoying the lake breeze generated by the speed of the boat. She promptly occupied one of her favorite sitting and napping spots: Skye's lap.

"Just once," she asked their father, making herself comfortable.

"Seriously," Fantina said from the front, glaring at her sister, disgusted. "Why don't you do that with me?"

"Why should I?" Tina retorted, her eyes flashing with anger. "You never do it with me."

"Easy Reuben, Platinum, Tina, Skye, Fantina, and Bruce," their mother said from the front, starting from youngest to oldest. "Adele first, then the Weird Sisters."

Reuben and Platinum didn't protest: both knew if they did they wouldn't be listening to the Weird Sisters at all.

"But they have a point," Mother conceded, lowering her sunshades, scrutinizing her most eccentric pair of offspring. "Why do you love Muggles so much?"

Tina and Skye just traded looks, and shrugged at their mom, who frowned. She couldn't help but feel for them more: the triplets were the spitting image of her down to a tee: even Skye inherited her hourglass body frame. Mom made a mental note to herself to work to instill some proper Wizarding pride into the snuggling sibling duo. Within a year they'd be at Hogwarts, and they would need it.

As Adele's "Hello from the Other Side" began blaring through the loudspeakers, Tina closed her eyes and lost herself in the music. She cuddled into her older brother's body, her head resting now on his chest.

"Really Tina?" their father chuckled from the driver's seat, watching her through the plexiglass. "Aren't you old for that"

"So, and," Tina said, her eyelids growing heavy, ignoring the snide remarks and whimpering from her other three brothers. Her brother ignored them, shifting slightly to allow her to rest her head more comfortably.

That was what she loved about him most: he tolerated her wants, no matter how inconvenient, like none of her other siblings had ever done. It got to the point when she refused to sit anywhere near Reuben, Platinum, Bruce, or even Fantina during family meetings or other special nights.

Sometime later, she woke up suddenly. She glanced up again: Skye was wide awake, flashing through a Muggle smart phone. Behind them, the backseat was completely quiet, with the shirtless younger brothers and their parents having gone for a swim in the lake. Fantina was busy making various items levitate in the front seat, ignoring her nearly identical twins.

"Can't sleep?" Tina asked, stretching.

"Yeah, too brosick," he said, gesturing to splashes in the lake.

"Oh, watcha lookin' at," she queried, pulling the screen towards her. She had forgotten her phone at home on this day.

"Just what they call an E-, or I-book, or whatever they call it."

"Let's read it together, like old times' sake."

"Don't you..."

"And, so," she said, eyebrow going up.

They read the Kindle E-book together in silence as the afternoon slowly turned into early evening. Later, their father packed up the boat and began to head back towards the Marina.

Nobody saw it, not even their father who was driving. A massive, black houseboat careened out of control towards the small yellow craft owned by the Bones family. Metal crunched upon metal as the massive black silhouette swallowed its smaller brethren whole. Both boats rolled, sending metal and glass flying everywhere into the water. Onlookers watched in shock as the crafts twisted and contorted around each other-and their occupants.

In thr yellow craft, Tina gripped her brother around the abdomen as blood from both of their bodies intermixed together on the seat. Pain shot through her side and she cried out, hoping for relief that would never come. As the wreckage of the boat approached their seat, Skye and Tina both embraced in the tightest hug they could manage in their injured states. Both were determined that if death was coming, they'd meet it together. Never parted.

Tina's eyes widened in shock as they, and the body of their mother shimmered, and then passed through the instruments of death. As motor oil mixed and then exploded among the wreckage, three of them floated far longer than gravity should allow and landed gently on the bank, sprawling everywhere.

 _ **Is this death?**_ Tina thought...

 _ **It's not so bad..**_.Skye's thought said in her brain.

Tina tried to gasp in surprise, but she couldn't. Her eyes were heavy, but she used her last bit of strength to grasp her brother's limp hand before giving into death.

* * *

One year later…

Firm hands awoke Tina, now approaching eleven. She jolted awake in bed, covered from head to toe in sweat.

"Are you okay?" Skye asked.

"Yeah, it's..."

"A nightmare? The wreck?"

"Why? How..." she said, seeing the guilt telegraphed through the beloved, yet mysterious psychic connection they shared. "Please tell me you haven't been shown me farting yet."

"No, don't give it any ideas," he said with mocking seriousness.

"Maybe I should," Tina teased, targeting Skye's bare foot. By now she knew every weak point on her older brother.

Skye giggled like a little schoolgirl, before throwing every blanket he could get his hands over his sister's head.

"Come and get me!" he shouted, bolting out their shared bedroom in his Mickey Mouse pajamas.

"So childish," Tina yelled, nearly tripping over her white nightgown. "COME BACK HERE!"

She caught up to him at the bottom of the stairs. As the two siblings proceeded to nearly destroy the family room, their mother rolled her eyes in the small kitchen. She said a silent prayer of gratitude, for her two children who'd survived the wreck. The two's antics were the only semblance of normality she had since the wreck that had so devastated their lives. She flipped over a pancake on a small frying pan that was clearly showing the signs of repeated use.

Mom, or Karen as everyone but her children called her, thought on the many changes that had jolted their now small family, mixed with a tinge of sadness, yet cushioned by joy and amazement. The trials and grief of the past year had wielded the entire family into one cohesive survival troop, united in purpose and spirit.

"Ow," Mom heard Tina yell, as she flopped into a chair.

"Really? Don't lie," Skye responded, folding his arms.

"Why can't I ever lie to you?!"

Mom flipped the last of the three pancakes onto a small plate, and paused, wondering at the marvelous gift that connected the two survivors.

"BREAKFAST!" Mom yelled, causing the ruckus in the family room to immediately die down.

She poured three hot pancakes onto three plates on a rickety table that also served as the setting for sewing, board games, home reading and study sessions, magical craft projects, make up and eye shadow lessons, and Muggle tech experiment lab.

The fireplace burned emerald green, and without flinching, Mom addressed the woman who had literally appeared out of thin air.

"Welcome Susan, nice to see you again."

"Auntie Susan," Tina said, coming into the kitchen.

"The rest of the family is on the way," Susan Bones informed her adopted sister, holding her wand and a large plate of homemade wizarding goodies on a plate.

Tina sensed her brother slowly ease out of the kitchen before Aunt Susan could notice him. One difference between them was that Tina didn't share his distaste for the rest of the extended family.

"I forgot something," Tina invented. "I'll be back."

She made a beeline for the small room the she shared with Skye-not Fantina. Fantina had a room all to herself, proudly decorated with images of the Appleby Arrows and painted silver in green in honor of Slytherin. Tina brushed by Fantina's door, and flung open the one to find her brother on his bed across the room from hers.

"Still not happy about it?," she asked, joining her brother, who was laying on his bed, staring at the blank white wall.

"Never," he said. "I'm sick and tired of our family's wizarding pride nonsense."

"You sound like Albus Dumbledore or Gandhi," Tina said, stroking his hair, a form of endearment between twin brother and sister. "I am too. I just hide it better, I guess. That's probably why there isn't a wizarding object in here."

Tina wasn't kidding at all. On and in the old school desk they'd scavenged from a local middle school was two TVs, a Nintendo 64, a Wii, two Gameboys, three old Pokemon games, two smartphones, a computer, several robotic experiments, and a Internet router all of which the two had rigged to run on their mother's _Incendio_ spell.

"Will we really get to Hogwarts?" Skye asked, looking his sister in the eye. Tina was taken completely by surprise: it was a topic neither one of them like to discuss.

"I don't know," Tina conceded, taking his left hand, not making eye contact. She glanced at her right, willing some form of magic to come out of it, but none came as always. "Remember, plenty have never exhibited magic before and still have gone to Hogwarts."

Even as she said the words, Tina Bones didn't have an ounce of faith in her own words. She'd been doing a lot of research lately: every one the ancestors in the Bones family had began exhibiting magic by age three. Nary Tina nor Skye could ever recall anything unnatural that had ever happened to them. Except the boat wreck: neither one of them preferred to dwell on it though.

"If we don't go, we'll be the first Squibs to be born into the Bones family in nearly 300 years," she finally said, looking him in the eye. Her voice became shrouded with dread as she spoke her next few sentences. "Almost our entire status with our family rests on that letter. As you know, they already think we lack 'proper wizarding pride' due to the fact we love to play the Nintendo 64 and listen to Adele."

Silence greeted the implication of that revelation, and the reality of what was riding on their Hogwarts letters, due any day now. The problem haunting them was that Fantina's had already arrived the previous day, but Tina and Skye's had not.

"I don't know if we can stand that," Skye finally said.

"Neither do I," Tina agreed. "We must get that letter. It should be coming any day now. Our 11th birthday was last week. If we don't...if we don't...then what'll we do?"

Tina nearly burst into tears, seeking refuge in her brother's arms.

"Tina, Skye, come on down, everyone is here," came from downstairs.

Skye helped Tina compose herself before opening the door.

"What do you want to bet, who'll say 'have you given up your Muggle obsession' first?" Skye queried his best friend. "I say Aunt Susan."

"I'll wager my TV set," Tina volunteered. "It'll be Uncle Alpheus."

"My TV then too is on the line," Skye said. "Before we go, let's hide all this junk."

Tina and Skye hid all of their Muggle gear and textbooks snipped away from landfills, garbage cans, second-hand stores, and various other sources into a basket hidden under a collection of Tina's newly acquired undergarments.

"Ready to brave the rabble?" Tina asked Skye.

"I heard that," their mother's voice came from outside, the door flinging open. "Remember what I said, difference in opinion doesn't cut out family. Now come on, everyone is here."

"Letter?" Tina and Skye asked together, looking like schoolchildren on the last day of school.

"No, nothing yet today," Mom said, looking as sad as her offspring. Just by the look on her face, Skye and Tina could see she too shared their fear and dread of what might happen should they be declared as Squibs. "The day is still young my dear ones, just have faith in yourself and who you are."

She gave both of her favorite children a hug, then led them downstairs. Skye braced himself for what was coming next.

They went into the main living room of the small apartment, now crammed with ten people, plus Tina and Skye's immediate relations. The 'rabble' welcomed them with open arms, all chattering excitedly about the newest family members to go to Hogwarts. Uncle Alpheus pulled the two in, telling them a tale about his days at the wizarding school both were sure was not completely accurate, as it ended in him fending off a twenty foot werewolf.

Their cousin Susan related tales of her Apparition class she had with the very famous Harry Potter, while her husband told them about his time in Ravenclaw as the best student of the year-until Susan corrected him. Strangely, everyone was treating them normally. _Probably Fantina's letter_ , Skye and Tina thought together. _If one of three is going, then the other two must've gotten lost somewhere. Has been known to happen, owl post isn't lost proof._

Fantina was with five other cousins, all of whom were at Hogwarts. They were talking about the school excitedly.

"Why do you want to go so bad?"seventh year student May Stewart asked Fantina. "It's not as great as you've heard. Okay they teach magic, but it's nothing great."

"I want to get away from, them," she said quietly, jabbing in the direction of her siblings.

"They'll go with," May pointed out.

"They'll go to Ravenclaw or Gryffindor," Fantina said. "Or some other house where I won't be. I'm going to be a Slytherin."

It only generated looks of disgust on the faces of her cousins, most of whom had gone into Ravenclaw.

"Sick and tired of being overshadowed by them?" May guessed.

"Totally."

Eventually Tina and Skye were separated from each other, until they reunited near the water coolers underneath the kitchen window. Skye poured a glass for himself and one for his sister. They were both drinking when they heard a plunk against the window. Four ocean-blue eyes locked on it, and excitement electrified the twins as a large barn owl fluttered against the window, clearly wanting to be let in. Tina glanced around her, and silently opened the window. The barn owl flew in, dropped a parchment envelope on their heads, and flew around the room, clearly pleased with itself.

Tina picked up the envelope and her heart flew to the heavens: it had the Hogwarts emblem on it.

 **The Smallest Bedroom**

 **Tina and Skye Bones**

 **114th Cheshire Blvd**

 **Godric's Hallow**

But Tina and Skye exchanged worried looks: why would Hogwarts just send one letter? And why was it lighter than Fantina's? They both felt dread bubbling up into their stomachs and fear taking hold of their hearts, threatening to choke them.

"Maybe they just combined our letters together?" Skye offered. It sounded lame even as he said it.

Tina threw him a 'get real' look that immediately sobered him up.

"We'd better get Mom," they said together, as the barn owl finally left the way it came.


	2. Branded

**For the rest of this story, Karen Bones will be referred by her name occasionally, but mostly as Mom when in relation to her children. Obviously, JK Rowling hasn't said much about Squibs, or told us much about them. A lot of this is mostly conjecture and based on the lives of the two Squibs who are mentioned in the Harry Potter books: Mrs. Figgs (Harry's Dursley caretaker) and Argus (or Mr.) Filch.**

 **Estranged Chapter 2**  


 _"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." -Eleanor Roosevelt_

It took the two of them fifteen minutes to extricate their Mom from Susan, who was busy telling Karen all about her work at the Ministry.

"What is it children?" she asked, a little inpatient.

Tina held out the letter.

"Finally, about time," Mom said breathlessly. "I expected them to take longer."

She ripped open the envelope and read, her face growing more and more glum by the end of it. Unable to control her emotions, Mom headed for a tissue while Tina and Skye finally got their turns to read it. By the end of it, Tina and Skye both joined their mom at the almighty tissue box in various states of depression and denial.

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

 **Headmistress: Professor Minerva McGonagall, First Class Order of Merlin, etc. etc.**

 _Dear Mrs. Bones_

 _We appreciate you reaching out to us on behalf of your two remaining children. As you know, for some reason we still do not fully understand, sometimes magic doesn't manifest in some magical families resulting in what had been called (and I heavily disagree with the use of the term and how they are often treated) "Squibs". As you are probably aware, our own Caretaker Argus Filch is a Squib, but hasn't let that stop him through his years of faithful service to the school._

 _Every child that has magic is put down for our school by the Ministry at birth, including those often called Muggle-borns. How magic transitions between family members and why it sometimes goes dormant has been a matter of intense study by the Ministry and our own late Dumbledore, but we haven't any answers for that painful condition that afflicts many of our brethren. I also send my personal condolences about the loss of your sons, all of whom we are sure would have been a fine addition to the Hogwarts ranks._

 _It is my painful duty to have to inform you that Skye and Tina Bones are not on the Hogwarts rolls. I fear they are, barring a late emergence of their powers, among the few of us who are not blessed with magical abilities. As with all wizarding children who don't seem to have magic, the Ministry's Department of Mysteries has monitored and tested them throughout the last few years, but has detected negligible amounts of magic inside of them. It is estimated that only 3-6 Squibs are born in the island of Britain each year, making the case of your triplets a very rare and tragic case. Because of their lack of magical ability, they won't be able to do the tasks typically required of Hogwarts students._

 _Because of such a rare occurrence and that it happened in one of our oldest and most prestigious wizarding families, I feel I must visit in person to help set your mind at ease. As I explained above, there are careers in the Wizarding world that Squibs have and fulfill admirably, like our own post of Caretaker. If not, many have successfully made the transition to being successful among our Muggle brethren (something I'm no expert in, but I have some pointers from our Muggle studies professor). Will sometimes next week suffice?_

 _Enclosed is a list of resources provided by the Ministry for the magical parents of those who do not match the qualifications necessary for attending Hogwarts. Again, you have my deepest sympathies for your children. I implore you not to lose hope. Even as 'Squibs', many have found a future and a calling among their wizarding kin, like Mr. Filch and our own Muggle Studies professor Hope Burbage._

 _Again, my deepest sympathies_

 _Minerva McGonagall_

The letter fell to the floor, with some leaflets falling out of it, as crying filled the small kitchen, ignored by the joyous family in the other room. Mom gathered her despondent offspring, both bawling in pain, and pulled them into an embrace like she used to do with them when they were little.

"It's okay, it's okay," Mom said, glancing at the leaflets.

One of them bore the title: Squibs: A Ministry Guide for Parents. Others were leaflets for secondary wand courses like Kwikspell, Shriver's Wandwork Emporium, and Options for Squibs in the Magical World.

"Enough, I need you to be strong," she cooed, clearing away tears. "It's not the end of the world."

But neither twin would listen to her, as Karen Bones tried to comfort her children and hide her own fears. She was already treated as less because of her own pro-Muggle leanings: she knew word would eventually get out, and she shuddered at what might happen if it did. She let go of her children and threw the letter at the nearby fireplace. She gathered up the leaflets and stored them away in the cupboard underneath the kitchen sink. Mom then turned her attention to the most immediate task: concealing the information and comforting her twins.

After what seemed like hours, she finally managed to comfort her children.

"What now Mom?" Tina pleaded.

"I don't know," she conceded. She held out the leaflets for her children to see. "There are other schools than just Hogwarts. Maybe one of them will take you. Think children, think, was there anytime anything strange happened."

Tina was still bawling and too inconsolable to listen right now.

"Maybe," Skye finally conceded.

Mom turned her attention to him.

"There was a time when a paint bucket fell on us while we were walkng home from the dump. The workman dropped it directly on us, but it slid to the side slight and just barely missed us."

"Was Fantina with you?"

"No, it was just me and Tina."

"Well, then you have magic, both of you."

"No we don't, it was just dropped at a slight angle," Skye pointed out.

"No, dropping doesn't work like that when it's dropped from a ladder," Mom corrected. "Based on your description, the workman dropped it straight down. How can it move an inch to the right by itself?"

"It can't..." Tina concluded, wiping away tears from her blotchy cheeks. "Unless something magical..."

"That means one thing, you have a little magic within you. You may not be able to do what any normal wizard can do, but we'll find something."

"Now," Mom said, pulling her children close to her. "Make me a promise."

"Anything," Tina and Skye said together.

"Keep word of this quiet, if anyone asks, tell them I decided not to send you to Hogwarts, but to a different school. Keep this from Fantina too for now."

"Yes Mom," they chorused together.

"Accio Letter," came from behind them.

All three whirled around to find Uncle Alpheus standing in the small kitchen, the charred letter in his hands.

"I knew it," he said, advancing on them. "I knew it."

"Knew what?" Tina dare ask.

"My brother should've never married you," he spat at Karen. "Look where it got him. Only one is of the true blood."

Mom's right hand carefully wrapped around the wand in her back pocket. But she knew Uncle Alpheus had been a professional dueler back in his day: she'd have to surprise him completely. She pulled the wand out of her pocket and hit it behind Skye's back. She pulled her children back with her away from their uncle, holding the wand in her right concealed behind her eldest twin. Alpheus slowly advanced on them, while they all gave ground.

"Did you read the rest of the letter? Or are you too blind to see it?" Karen challenged her brother-in-law.

"Blind?" Alpheus said, stunned at the accusation.

"Second paragraph:...we don't have any answers...if the Ministry hasn't found a cure or the reason why, then how can you judge my bloodline based on an old prejudice?"

"Doesn't matter, to hell with the Ministry," Alpheus almost shouted. "The Mudblood Granger (Karen and her children gasped) is next in line to be the Minister of Magic when Kingsley retire, a disgrace. The Ministry is dead to me. And so are you."

Tina's temper was flaring: she was trying to resist the urge to lunge and tackle their idiotic uncle to the ground. Mom tightened her grip on both of her offspring and her wand.

"What are you going to do?" Karen asked him, brainstorming spells while trying to act panicked.

"Cut you off from the rest of the family, you and your Mudblood children," Alpheus threatened, reveling in the new found revelationi. "All I have to do is show this letter to every..."

Karen judged exactly when Alpheus got too close. She moved so quickly that he was never was able to raise his wand.

" _Petrificus Totalus_ ," she cried. A beam of red light struck Alpheus in the leg and he straightened up like a board and flopped to the kitchen floor. A nonverbal spell and the door sealed itself. " _Silencio_."

A calming pall came over the kitchen.

"What do we do?" Tina and Skye asked their mom.

"Move him towards me," she told them.

It took all Skye and Tina could muster, as they were both skinny and agile, lacking almost all upper body strength to move him five inches.

"Take the letter to your room, hide it with your Muggle junk," she told Tina

Tina picked up the letter and ran towards the bedrooms.

"How dare you," Karen said in a deathly whisper, circling her brother-in-law, wand pointed at his chest. She kicked his away into a dark corner of the kitchen. "How dare you insult my children in front of me."

Both of her children gazed at her with pure adoration and astonishment: they'd never seen her this furious before in their lives.

"It's too bad you won't remember any of this," Karen said, as panic infiltrated Alpheus's eyes. "It's a shame really. What you will remember and do is leave this house. Oblivaiate!"

Alpheus's beady brown eyes turned all misty, while Tina and Skye watched in awe.

" _Confundo_ ," she said. "Now you will get an idea to leave this house and never return."

"I will leave this house and never return," Alpheus responded in a deadpan. "This isn't my idea."

Alpheus got up, retrieved his wand and left back into the family room. Five minutes later, they heard the sound of Floo Powder four times, signaling Alpheus and his family were gone. Karen called their barn owl Kent down from his perch and wrote on a piece of paper:

 _We'd be delighted for you to visit us next Tuesday. Around 3 p.m. will do, if that'll work for you. Please explain more options, especially about the other wizarding schools contained in your letter._

 _Sincerely, Karen Bones_

She attached it to Kent's leg and threw him out the window.

"Sorry you had to witness that," Karen said, flopping down into a kitchen chair, exhausted yet exhilarated. Her children joined her. "That's why I quit my job at the Ministry. I couldn't continue to watch Muggles and often our own kind have their memories and often motives modified all in the name of upholding secrecy."

"But, it's the law..." Tina said, her voice trailing off.

"I had no choice, but it'll only delay things a little while," Karen said, wrapping a tendril of hair around her finger and thinking out loud. "Word'll get out before you know it."

"But what will happen to us?" Skye asked, dancing on his tiptoes along with Tina.

Karen dare not voice all of her concerns to her children-yet.

"Nothing for now, push it from your minds, now back to the party."

Around noon the extended family finally left by via Floo Powder back to their homes. Karen now had to confront a new dilemma: how to tell Fantina her siblings wouldn't be accompanying her to Hogwarts without tipping her off about her siblings being designated as Squibs. She had a feeling though, that Fantina would be happy about it.

Mom eventually found Fantina in her bedroom, pouring over a map of Hogwarts provided by her cousins.

"Fantina dear, your siblings' Hogwarts letter arrived while you were chatting," Karen informed her.

"Really?"

"However..."

"What do you mean however?!" Fantina demanded, showing a streak of her temperament inherited directly from her Bones family line. Mom however, was not cowed by her daughter's rebellious streak.

"However, according to the letter their magical needs are different..."

"Which means?"

"Which means..." Mom said, a warning tone now entering her voice. "Most likely they will be receiving another form of schooling, but not at Hogwarts."

"Do you mean like Beaxbattons or Illveronomy?!" Fantina asked, not believing what she was hearing.

"Maybe. The Headmistress of Hogwarts is coming in a week to discuss our options. That's when I'll send you with Aunt Susan to get your Hogwarts items. Because this just concerns Skye and Tina, I feel it better for you to be having the day of your life rather than worrying about where your siblings are going to school."

"Thanks Mom," Fantina said, trying to disguise her excitement. But her natural curiosity took over. "But what kind of differences?"

"She really wouldn't say," Mom said less than truthfully. "Only that their magic doesn't manifest it in the same way the rest of the Bones family does."

"Like a Squib?" Fantina guessed, hitting bulls eye way sooner than Mom would've liked.

Mom shuffled: Fantina was being more difficult than she anticipated.

"What is a Squib?" she queried her intelligent, yet often misguided daughter.

"I, uh..." Fantina said, a little confused. Now that she actually thought about it, what was a Squib other than just someone who didn't have magic?"

"Squib is a derogatory term applied to anyone who isn't like the rest of the wizarding community not just those with no magic," Mom sternly reminded her. " Your siblings have magic, but it can't be taught at Hogwarts. We'll find out more next Tuesday."

With that, Karen left her youngest triplet room. Fantina rolled onto her bed puzzling over her mother's words. Different? How can magic be different? Squibs are those without magic...unless Mom isn't telling the full truth. She pulled out a dictionary from her bookshelf and turned to the page containing the term.

 **Squib**

 **Often used to refer to those born into wizarding families without, or with little magic.**

She put the dictionary down, her mind racing but now infused with a new emotion: excitement. Fantina had gotten her deepest wish: she would finally be able to be rid of her troublesome and pride-lacking siblings, the constant pranks, mother's favoritism, the weird way they seemed to read each others thought, and last but not least the Muggle junk she was knew was somewhere in their shared bedroom. She pulled a piece of parchment towards her, grabbed one of Skye's Muggle pens she had nabbed the previous day (she had to admit that it was easier than writing with quills) and started to write a letter to her cousins.

Outside, her mother watched through the crack in Fantina's door. She knew she wasn't supposed to be there, but her plan had worked beyond all hope. Deep inside, Karen Bones knew she had bought a week of relief for her and Tine and Skye. Her motherly instincts though, refused to let her off the hook. She turned and walked towards Skye and Tina's bedroom: they needed her and she could still hear sniffling coming from inside. Before she went inside, her mother instinicts reminded her of one fact: after McGonagall's visit on Tuesday, nothing would ever be the same.


	3. Fantina's Nose

**Two words I just like to say here concerning the future direction of this story. First is that this story** **going to explore outside Britian in various ways, including other Wizarding communities. Second is that some form of dark magic is going to manifest itself here in the story in various ways. I'm not gunning to create another Lord Voldemort, but it seems before he arrived on the scene there was a dark wizarding community living on the fringes of society (if Harry's side trip to Knockturn alley was any indication).**

Chapter 3-Fantina's Nose

"The past cannot be changed. The future is yet within your power."-Anon  


A melancholy calm cast itself over the house for the next month of June. Fantina stopped poking her nose where it didn't belong, while Tina and Skye busied themselves with studying what school they would go to. When they had narrowed it down, Karen Bones locked the three of them in Skye and Tina's room.

"Okay, what have you got?" Mom asked. Tina showed their mother three leaflets.

"Kwikspell, Beauxbattons summer camp, or Scriver's learn by owl mail system. They seem to be the most reputable out of all of them."

"My research too," Mom said, agreeing with them. "Here what I'm going to do. We'll start with Kwikspell or Scriver's, then I'll send you to the camp next year."

Karen braced herself for what she was going to say next. She lowered her voice to a whisper.

"But, we may soon have to choose which world to live in, Muggle or Wizarding."

"Why?" the twins chorused, caught off guard. They'd never considered such a possibility.

"Because you two know just about as any Muggle your age, perhaps more. Many Squibs have found it hard to adjust to living in a world where they can't do any magic. One thing I did when you were born is I registered you."

"With whom? The Ministry?"

"No indefinitely not," Mom said rather curtly. "The Ministry only keeps records of births starting from when you attend Hogwarts. But I had a strange feeling when I was carrying you three. When you were born, something told me you lacked the magical talent of your sister Fantina. I registered you with the British and American Muggle governments under my maiden name of Belle. If we must, we can simply go where I grew up...or any Muggle town for that matter. I'm just saying, you two must be prepared for that possibility."

Skye's eyebrow went up: Mom had never divulged much of her past other than just saying she was Muggle-born, much less her origins.

"Where did you live?" Tina asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"A small town across the pond, my family moved here and the Ministry enrolled me at Hogwarts. But I still keep some contact, so that's Plan Z. Let's make Plan A work first."

Karen left the room, using her magic to unlock and open the door.

CRASH!

"Ouch," came from behind the door.

"Fantina!" her mother screeched, pulling her daughter out rather roughly from behind the door. "What have I told you about eavesdropping?"

"Not to," Fantina said, without looking her in the eye. "What's Kwikpell and Scriver's?"

Mom had been preparing for this over the last month.

"Homeschool," she said. "Until next summer when Beauxhbattons opens their summer academy. I cannot afford to send them to board at that school at this time."

"Why not send me there?" Fantina demanded, folding her arms across her chest. Karen however, wasn't even remotely fooled by her daughter's pretended interest.

"Because, Hogwarts is where you'll thrive, I know that."

With that Karen left to the kitchen to write a few letters, leaving a frustrated daughter in her wake.

* * *

Later that day, the usual family reunion happened again. Except this time the topic of conversation was Skye and Tina Bones, not Fantina. The news of the rejection from Hogwarts had left the rest of the Bones family desperate for more information.

Uncle Alpheus, true to his word, had declared that his flock were disowning Karen: nobody understood why, and with his confrontational personality, they didn't care. Karen waited until Skye and Tina had withdrawn themselves from the family, exhausted from so much socializing before giving her announcement.

"Hey everyone," Karen called over the din, tapping a fork on her glass. "Like I wrote, it took sometime, but I finally have news. Many of you are wondering why I'm not sending two of my children to Hogwarts."

She braced herself for the fallout.

"They have been accepted at Beauxbattons instead."

A round of timid applause came from their audience, lessening the burden on Karen's shoulders.

"As non-French citizens, they cannot go until next year. So for now, I will be homeschooling them until next summer."

"That's great," Aunt Macey said.

She stepped closer.

"As you know, this decision wasn't made lightly and I request you spare questioning them as they so desired to attend the most prestigious wizarding school of all time. It hasn't been easy for them."

Chatter broke out again as Karen ended her announcement. Fantina smiled: she would now be free at Hogwarts to do what she wanted. Fantina and her favorite cousins began swapping stories about the magic school while Susan followed her adopted sister into the kitchen.

"There's something more here," she demanded of Karen. "I know you too well."

Karen looked her adopted sister in the eye, wondering if she could truly trust her. She decided to gamble.

"It's officially called Beauxbattons School for Squibs," she fessed up. "Apparantly Tina and Skye aren't gifted with as Fantina. Keep it quiet sis, if anyone else knows."

She drew a finger across her throat.

"Your secret is safe with me," Susan told her, giving her a hug. "Maybe something good will happen of this."

Susan rejoined the family chattering excitedly in the next room. Karen leaned against the wall, exhausted yet exhilarated. Tina and Skye, who'd just finished fixing up a Wii, came into the room and sat on either side of their Mom.

"Did they buy it?" Skye asked, seeing the look of worry on Mom's face.

"Kinda," Mom said. "It won't be long though before someone figures out the truth. We have to brace ourselves for that day."

"Uh Mom," Tina said, trying to conceal her excitement. "Watch this. Skye, throw that ball at me."

Skye picked up a confiscated bouncy ball and sent it Tina's way. She held out her hand and deflected it with a small shield of magic.

"Good," Mom said, hope shining in her eyes. "You do have magic."

"Is it enough to go to Hogwarts?"

Mom looked with sadness at her second youngest triplet. She reflected on the stories she heard there of the way Hogwarts accepted their students, how it took a magical pen and the Book of Acceptance had to agree together on which students would be admitted to Hogwarts. Rumor had it a student had to exhibit a lot of magic in order to have his/her name written in the book. She was sure it still wasn't enough: if not, why would the professor come to visit in person if they weren't already sure?"

"I'm afraid not. My hope is that if you two can learn enough magic over the next year, maybe we can persuade the Ministry to change it's mind about you."

"OK Mom," Tina said, not entirely convinced. She was still having trouble coping with the fact that one of her lifelong dreams might not come true.

"Tina, literally this is our best shot," Skye pointed out, always the realist. "What do we have to lose?"

"Alright," Tina finally conceded. She communicated through the bond with her brother though, that she was far from mollified.

* * *

June faded away into July as Karen worked to enrolled Skye and Tina in Shriver's and Kwikspell. But Fantina's notorious and often dangerous sense of curiosity was getting the best of her. In addition, her constant boasting about the alleged superiority of Hogwarts was slowly driving a wedge between her and her identical siblings. Halfway through the month, Skye and Tina withdrew themselves almost completely from Fantina, only talking to her at meals or when necessary, making life frustrating for the energetic and now often bored Fantina Bones.

So finally one day she snuck down into the kitchen in the middle of the day, the time she'd overhead Karen telling her siblings when their letter would arrive. She secreted herself behind the table, watching as three specks materialized in the sky, heading for the kitchen window that served as the owl post route. As the three arrived, she stood up...

" _Colloportus_ ," came from behind her.

The window slammed shut as three owls sped over Fantina's head, and right onto her mother's outstretched arm.

"Seriously," Mom said, taking the letters off before shooing the owls to a perch near the stairs. "I expected more from you Fantina."

Fantina just shared guiltily at her mom, caught in the act. Karen had a eagle-like hawk look she could call upon, inherited from her Muggle line, and she now deployed it to it's full effect. Fantina quivered under her gaze, before mustering up her courage.

"Mom, could I live with Susan's family until Hogwarts?" Fantina asked. She was going crazy not having anyone talk or play with her.

"Why?" Mom demanded.

"Because...because..." all of Fantina's argumentative points simply melted away under her mother's stern gaze.

"Fantina, just because you are going to Hogwarts doesn't make you superior to anyone. Don't make the mistake of the rest of the Bones family, believing and harking in pureblood status. Besides, you aren't a pureblood yourself."

Fantina blinked: Mom had never told her this before.

"I'm Muggle-born," Mom said, hoping this would take her rebellious daughter's pride down a peg. "That makes you a 'half-blood'. Now, I suggest you apologize to your siblings, and maybe they might play with you again."

Mom shooed Fantina back to her bedroom. She entered Skye and Tina's room to find them working on an old 1950s era TV.

"Where do you get all of this junk?" she asked, amazed.

"The nearby dump, don't worry, when we figure out how they work we put them back," Tina assured her. "Mostly."

She wasn't about to give up the Nintendo 64 they'd found two years prior.

"Now," she said, pulling them closer. "Skye and Tina Belle. Has a nice ring to it. If we have to go to the Muggle world, or if anything bad happens, our last name will be Belle. You should be proud: in Italian and French it means 'beautiful'.

* * *

Fantina came down the stairs in the middle of the night. She was fully dressed, had a few belongings, and went to the fireplace. To her consternation, the flowerpot containing Floo Powder was missing. In the shadow of the full moonlight flooding in through the window over the sink, she recognized a thin silhouette by the window.

"Long time no see," he said, a glass of water in his hand. "Going somewhere?"

"Visit Susan's," she responded half-truthfully. "Go live at Susan's actually."

"Why do you think Hogwarts makes you so special?" Skye demanded.

"Why aren't you going?"

"Because we're cool like that."

"You're a Squib, aren't you?" Fantina demanded, trying to rattle him.

"No we aren't," Skye said, un-intimidated. He finished his glass of water.

"Besides," he said, on his way to bed. "I never really wanted to go to Hogwarts anyways."

He left towards the stairs that lead to the second floor of the small condo/apartment.

"Oh, and by the way, Mom confiscated the Floo Powder, and the network closes at midnight."

Angered, Fantina snapped. As soon as Skye was gone, she grabbed a piece of parchment, a pen and wrote rather fast.

 _Dear Uncle Alpheus_

 _My siblings are Squibs. Get me out of this...hellhole!_

 _Sincerely, Fantina Bones_

She looked around for Kent: he was gone, probably out hunting. She stuffed the letter into her nightgown and headed for bed. She would send it out somehow.


	4. Paths Divided

**So, many had written a first weeks at Hogwarts chapter, the most important of which was J.K. Rowling. I decided to try a different tact that may or may not work: a recounting of the major and important events rather than following along. It's a new way of storytelling I've come across recently. Leave a review or a PM telling me how you liked it, and if it's a good way to tell stories. If not, I'll revise the chapter in a more traditional way.**

 **Chapter 4-First Week of Hogwarts**

Fantina couldn't believe it. Two weeks had just gone by in a flash, two of the best weeks of her life. Weeks that were consequential, yet still were hard. Now here she was, just 72 hours into her Hogwarts experience, her second day of classes now over. She laid back on her four poster, thinking hard about the last two weeks. Yet, a mysterious emotions was plaquing her right now.

 _Why am I so miserable?_ she thought.

A little voice inside her head she absolutely hated decided to answer her back.

 _Because your siblings aren't here._

She moaned into her pillow, bemoaning the truth of those words. Never had she been so glad to get away from them: and yet never had she missed them so much. She replayed the events of the last two weeks,

 _Leaving_

 _The morning of September 1st came like a whirlwind. With little fanfare, Mom came roaring into the room, hustling Fantina awake at 6 a.m. while her two siblings enjoyed their beauty sleep. By 10 a.m., she was in a borrowed car, on the way to King's Cross Station._

 _The departure was by far worse for Skye and Tina. Both cried as the train pulled away, with Mom powerless to comfort them. She waved goodbye to Fantina, who occupied the last compartment on the train. The youngest triplet felt a weird pang of longing as the massive behemoth pulled out of the station northwards, towards the dream of her life._

 _Arrival at the School_

 _The Sorting Ceremony was most nerve wracking of all to Fantina. Not entirely sure where she belonged, Gryffindor where her father was, or Ravenclaw from her mother's side (who was a Thunderbird before that)._

 _"You will now be sorted into your House," Headmistress McGonagall announced to the 200 or so new students. "While you are here, your House will be like your family. You will sleep in your House's dormitory, hang out in your common room, and will return their after classes each day."_

 _With that she started with the A's, and went on down the list. Fantina's anxiety continued to spike until she got to the latter part of the B's._

 _"Fantina Bones."_

 _It was with a brief pang in her heart she thought as two names would probably never be read aloud in this hall: Skye and Tina Bones. She hardened it: nowhere in her heart should she be feeling anything like. Legs like jelly, somehow they moved under her command. Under the eyes of well over a thousand people, she pulled the old hat down over her head. After two seconds, a voice in her ear made her squeak silently._

 _"Hmmm, quite a lot in here, oh, a thirst to set yourself apart, emergence from your siblings' shadows...oh, a hatred for anything Muggle...keep an eye on that, it might not serve you well...quite a lot of knowledge...where to put you?"_

 _Fantina held her breath: this was her chance, her time to finally set herself apart._

 ** _Slytherin...come on...Slytherin..._**

 _"Slytherin eh," the hat said, astonished. "Tell me, why Slytherin?"_

 _Fantina couldn't think of a single reason other than it was the house her siblings said they didn't want go to._

 _"Slytherin wouldn't do you good, not with who dwell there. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor could both help you on the way to greatness no doubt. But better be...HUFFLEPUFF!"_

 _The Sorting Hat shouted the last aloud to the hall, with raucous applause from the Student Body. Fantina's heart though, instantly fell to the sewers._

 _That night, Fantina wrote her Mom a long letter that included these sentences: 'Why Hufflepuff? Why not Slytherin?'_

 _It quickly became clear who the bully was in the school. Delilah and her long-time gang of 'mean girls' quickly found a new target: Fantina Bones. Lacking the protection her siblings had always provided (Skye and Tina had always confronted anyone who dared tease her, one of the few things she admired about them) she became easy pickings for the experienced bullies on her very first day._

 _Fantina couldn't believe it: this was nothing like she had been told about since she was three. Could have her cousins all been wrong? That was until she wrote to Skye about her troubles. Less than 24 hours later, Kent and an unknown additional barn owl arrived carrying a huge package, delivering it at night to her dorminotry rather than at breakfast. Written in Skye's untidy scrawl was 'For Fantina's eyes only'._

 _She opened it to find a large, orange balloon with the words 'Whoopee Cushion' on it. She eyed it warily: the shocking experience she had gone through two weeks ago was just one of many such events she'd sufferred at the hands of Skye and Tina's experiments._

 _"What is this?" she asked herself as a note fell out of it in Tina's handwriting._

 ** _Dear Fantina_**

 ** _This is called a 'Whoopee Cushion'. Muggles used it to prank one another by placing it on a chair before the intended victim sits down, causing a farting noise. Same concept, but this one has a special surprise in it. Since we cannot be there to do it in person, I'm afraid you are going to have to flower a bit._**

 ** _Figure out where Delilah likes to sit and place this on it. Make sure she sits on it, or you could get in trouble with Mr. Filch, who from Mom's tales, doesn't sound like the best person to have a run in with. I'm pretty sure that if we were there, we'd already have a drawer in his office all to ourselves._**

 ** _Sincerely  
Tina & Skye_**

 _Yes they would, Fantina thought as she turned their gift over._

 _For another day of classes, Fantina wondered what to do with her sibling's gift. Finally, she did a little research, finding out what squishy armchair was Delilah's favorite to sit in and deposited the orange thingy into it before she sat down. Delilah sat down chatting nonchalantly with her friend group: 'whoosh'. A blast of air erupted upwards, destroying her carefully done updo, and enveloping her and the bullies in a mushroom cloud equivalent to that of a dozen dung bombs. Screams erupted as the fumes spread and a mass exodus of the Hufflepuff common room commenced._

 _Fantina tried to contain her laughter, but found it hard not too. She joined the student body outside as Delilah and a half a dozen others emerged, smelling like fresh cow manure. Another exodus occurred as some seventy students fled down staircases, into nearby corridors, the bathrooms, or anywhere they could get away from the 'mean girls'. For her, it was the highlight of her second day there._

 _Present Day_

 _Fantina couldn't believe what she was feeling at the moment. In her mind's eyes, she could see Skye and Tina doing it for her, no matter what house they were put in. Why can't they come?_

 _The questions bounced around Tina's brain and refused to leave. She grabbed a piece of parchment from under her bed, a quill, and began to write a very short but important letter to her siblings, one she hoped never to write._

 _Dear Tina and Skye_

 _Is there anyway you can come to Hogwarts? Can you find anyway? Life just isn't the same around here._

 _Sincerely  
Fantina  
_

She put it on a school owl, and flung it out the window in the Owlery. As she watched the owl disappear into the coming darkness, little did she know just how much a single event taking place some 6oo miles aways would impact her life: and change it forever.

* * *

Some 600 miles away, Karen Bones arose from her bed, hair completely destroyed, in her white nightgown around 5 a.m. Ever since the disaster, she had downsized from a queen sized bed to a twin. Her room, careful and very tidy, was devoid of almost all decoration except for two nightstands on either side of her bed. She slowly drifted into the kitchen, heading for the sink and a glass of water. As per habit, she had her wand in her right hand.

As she reached for the handle, a red jolt of light hit the cupboard near her head, shattering it into a thousand pieces. She screamed in pain as glass rained down on her, blinding her completely. As more spells just missed her, she staggered, firing off random spells in all directions. Finally, another red jet of light hit her in the face, and she collapsed in agony to the glass covered floor. As she feel, she tripped a laser wire detection system Skye and Tina had set up last night and forgot to turn off.

A multitude of Muggle contraptions went off, filling the kitchen with fireworks, mouse like flaming instruments, and other weaponry. Several dark figures screamed and fled from the apartment, many on fire, other sporting minor injuries, burns, and tentacles. The racket also jolted the twins from their beds. As the last assailent fled from the now destroyed kitchen, the lights flickered on.

"Mom!" Tina and Skye said, racing to her side.

"Is she?" Tina said, not wanting to say it.

Skye felt for a pulse like he read about in a book a few weeks back: he could her heart still beating.

"She's fine, maybe just knocked out, get some cold water," he said.

Tina grabbed a glass and began to fill it while Skye looked around the kitchen in awe.

"It worked," he said. "The system really worked."

"Maybe I was wrong," Tina said, arriving with the glass of ice cold water.

She had objected to them using their small stockpile they'd bought from Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes as part of their protection system, but Skye had finally convinced her to try it. Now it had paid off. Tina dumped the ice cold water on Karen's face. The water slipped onto their mother's bloodied face, washing the blood away. She jolted awake, panic stricken. She began scurrying around for her wand.

"Mom, it's okay," Tina said, giving her a hug. "We're safe. What happened last night? We woke up and found you like this."

Mom thought quickly, gathering her wits about her. One thought occupied her brain: _we aren't safe._

"Tina, got get parchment and one of Skye's pens," she said, ignoring the question. "Skye, get Ken."

Both twins obeyed without question: such was the trust between Mother and offspring forged in the frying pan of affliction that they did what she told them quite promptly. When both had returned, she quickly told them an abbreviated version of the story.

"Skye, get your system up and working ASAP," she told him. "It clearly works."

"Yeah, but our stache of Weasleys gear is spent," Tina pointed out.

"I'll buy some," Mom said, causing both of her children to stare at her in disbelief. "Those attackers got through some serious enchantments. They weren't expecting your makeshift security system though."

"I didn't even think it would work," Skye conceded.

Mom paused, thinking.

"Maybe that's one of your powers Skye," she said.

"What?"

"What did you power it with?"

"Nothing, I just put it together and it worked as if it was plugged in."

"That power had to come from somwhere. I suggest you take a closer look at it instead of using my Incendio spell."

Skye flexed his fingers, staring at them in disbelief. Tina beamed with pride: she was getting worried that Skye might not have magic at all, but she never lost faith in him.

"Now go on," she said. "Repair that system pronto."

As her children left, Karen used magic to heal her many wounds, pondering the cause of the attack and why. She couldn't figure out why someone had attacked _her_. _Why target us? How'd they get through my protection spells? And why didn't they see Skye's protection device?_

Her fingers drummed on the counter as she continued to work it out. _It must be someone familiar with our rountine...yet not familiar enough to be on the lookout for strange contraptions. Can't be a robbery nothing was taken...yet...maybe.  
_  
Karen Bones dared not allow herself to go to that theory-yet. She would however, need some help in weeding out who was responsible. She dare not report it to the Ministry-she couldn't trust anyone anymore, or just one person of her family. Taylor Darnay, a young man of about twenty, was the only one she could trust. Born into a distant branch of the family, he wasn't considered by the majority of the Bones family members as one of them, yet could trace his lineage straight into the main family tree.

Like her twins, he was born a Squib, but had made the best of a bad situation. Now he worked as the No. 1 top agent for a top secret agency that straddled the border between the Muggle and wizarding worlds, keeping the peace between them-and cleaning up international incidents.

 _Dear Taylor Darnay_

 _This is for your eyes only. Please come over at once. We were just attacked, and I don't trust anyone else._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Karen Bones_

She sealed the envelope and threw her owl out of the the window. She hastened to the twins' bedrooms: they needed to leave quickly. After packing their things, both of them grabbed onto their mother's arms. They vanished into thin air with a small 'pop'.


End file.
